I'm Not Broken
by Ashton Li
Summary: When the third years graduate and Kaidou becomes captain, Ryoma starts to act differently. When Ryoma decides to quit, Kaidou chases after the boy only to get the response of "I'm not broken...but I sure feel like I am."
1. Chapter 1

**NOTE:**** Welcome to "I'm Not Broken". This is my first KaidouXRyoma fic. It's the fic that won the votes in my profile, so I've finally started it. I hope you all will enjoy.**

**I do not own any of these characters or the Prince of Tennis. I just happen to like to spend way too much time writing fics.**

**I'm Not Broken**

At Seishun Gakuen, today marked the first practice for the tennis club after the 3rd years had graduated and moved onto high school. With the leaving of the 3rd years, it left the team wondering if they could really stay one of the top teams with the lack of good players. Though, the new captain, Kaidou Kaoru, wasn't going to just let the team sink down to the bottom without a fight.

* * *

"Five laps around the courts!" Kaidou pointed his tan finger towards the fence. "After you're done, we'll start practice matches."

"Do you really think we'll be able to make it with this bunch?" Momoshiro Takeshi held onto a clipboard and looked through the names. "The two of us can't win all the matches on our own."

"I know that," he growled. "That's why we have to push everyone of them past their limits. If we don't, we'll never know what any of them are capable of."

A short figure bearing a white cap walked towards the two boys caring a large, brown box in his arms. Placing the box on the ground, he looked up at them. "Is this what you wanted?"

Lowing himself, Kaidou pulled out a small weight band. "These will work."

"What do you have planned anyways, Kaidou-senpai?"

"We're going to make everyone wear them," Momoshiro noticed that everyone was almost done with their laps. "Seems like you won't be running today, Echizen."

Echizen Ryoma pulled at his cap and let out a sigh. "Mada mada dane."

* * *

The group of boys that were in the tennis club gathered around in front of Kaidou and Momoshiro. They watched carefully as Kaidou pulled out a blue weight band from the box and hand it to Momoshiro. The other boy started to write a few things down on the paper that was attached to his clipboard.

"Starting today, everyone will be wearing these weights around their ankles. If I hear any complaints about it, I'll make you run another 20 laps," Kaidou picked up another of the weight bands. "Form a line and get two of these."

Ryoma made his way to the end of the line. He watched as the others grabbed for their weights and quickly put them on. When he had reached the box, he scooped the weights in his left hand and walked away from the two older boys.

"Echizen hasn't been the same lately," Momoshiro noticed that Ryoma had placed himself farther from the others. "Do you think something happened to him?"

"It's not our place to ask," Kaidou glanced in the box to see that there was only enough left for the two of them. "Get all of them started on practice matches."

"Right," shaking he head, Momoshiro began to yell orders to the tennis club. Ryoma continued to isolate himself from the others. After everyone began to pick partners, he made his way away from all of them and out of the courts. Looking to see him leaving, Momoshiro began to follow after.

"I'll get him," Kaidou stopped the boy and headed in the same direction the younger boy was walking.

* * *

In the club room, Ryoma began to change out of his regular's uniform. He replaced it school clothing. As he buttoned his shirt, he heard the door open and quickly reached for his bag. Right when he saw Kaidou come in, Ryoma adjusted his eyes to the floor and proceeded to leave.

"Echizen," Kaidou stood in front of the door so the younger boy couldn't leave.

"I'm going home."

"I won't ask you what's going on, but I won't sit here and watch you skip practice."

Ryoma turned back towards the benches that rested in the room. On them rested his jacket. "I left it there for you to take care of."

"Your Regular's jacket?"

"I won't be coming back to the tennis club," he managed to squeeze past Kaidou and out the door. "I quit."

"What?" Kaidou stood there trying to figure out what exactly was going on. Once the words finally set in, he raced out to find Ryoma.

* * *

Past the school building and half way down the street, Kaidou finally managed to catch up to the smaller boy. Reaching out his hand, he grabbed for his wrist making Ryoma jerk back.

"Echizen, you can't just walk out on us like this," Kaidou growled. "What's wrong with you?"

"I thought you said that you wouldn't ask what's going on," Ryoma yanked his arm away from Kaidou.

"There has to be a reason behind you just quitting like this."

"Do you really think we could win the Nationals? Even with my help, it's pointless."

"We have to at least try," Kaidou clenched his fists together in frustration. "At first I didn't believe that we'd be able to, but, with enough practice, anything is possible."

"Without the others, we're just going to suffer loss after loss. Momo-senpai and you can't do it all."

"That's why we need your help. We have to do our best to train the teammates we have to become better. What else are we to do? Give up?" Kaidou tugged Ryoma's shoulder to force him to look at him. Right when he saw Ryoma's emotionless eyes, he took a step back. "If something's bothering you…you should tell your upperclassmen so we can help."

Ryoma shook his head and returned to looking at his feet. "I'm not broken…but I sure feel like I am."

"What?"

"When they left…all of them…it felt like everything just fell apart," he fixed his bag that was falling off his shoulder. "I don't feel like I can be the pillar that Tezuka-buchou wanted me to become."

"If you just quit, you'll never know what you could become," Kaidou avoided looking at the younger boy. "The tennis club needs you, Echizen. Though, I'm not going to force you to do anything against your will. Just remember that there's always a spot on the Regulars for you."

Biting his lower lip, Ryoma turned away. "Do I mean that much to the club? Am I that important?"

"You're important enough."

"Huh?" raising his left arm in the air, he waved as he continued down the path. "I guess that means I'll see you tomorrow. For now, I'll keep helping the tennis club out, but I'm still not convinced."

Watching Ryoma leave, Kaidou crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do I have to deal with this?" Letting out a 'fshuuu' sound, he ran back to the school where he would find that the practice matches were already finished…and Momoshiro wasn't happy that he left him alone either.

**NOTE:**** Chapter one is completed. What do you all think? It took me a good bit of time to write because my laptop continued to freeze on me, and I had to shut it off. I'm so glad I save my work every five seconds. Anyways, I'm sorry if characters seem out of character. I'm used to writing main parts for Ryoma, but Kaidou isn't a character I'm used to. I hope I did an okay job. I mean, I tried…that's really all I can do. Right?**

**Is KaidouXRyoma a pairing people like? Well, if it won the votes in my profile, it must be. It's probably more popular than TezukaXOishi. Actually, a few days ago I all of a sudden started to have pairings coming into my head. I was all "Whoa! Yeah! That's a good pairing!" It was probably a good thing no one was home because I started to giggle while writing them all down. It all started with NiouXFuji (which I think is pretty interesting) and ended with YuutaXRyoma (The full list is actually in my profile.). Yeah, that one made me question myself. Then, I came up with a story for the pairing, and I decided it's not as bad as some other pairs that are out there. I just don't really like Yuuta. Well, speaking of pairings, I have a poll up in my profile. You all should so go vote in it. So far, the main pairing I write for (FujiXRyoma) is winning. I should have known it would if I put them up there though.**

**Back to this fic. I have an updating schedule for all of my fics. The next update for this one here will be no later than Saturday (January 30****th****). That's not really that long at all. It's actually odd because most of my fics are at least a week in between each update. Oh well!**

**I'm not going to ramble any longer. Thank you for stopping by. If you liked this chapter, be sure to come back for the next one because this isn't going to stop with Ryoma just coming back to the tennis club like nothing happened. How lame would that be? Thank you again for reading, and I hope all of you will continue to support me~! **


	2. Chapter 2

The following day after school, the tennis team once again met for practice. Ryoma watched as the first years ran to the courts with happy smiles. None of them seemed to care about how hard Kaidou was going to push them or even about winning. For some reason, their cheerfulness sickened Ryoma.

"Echizen!" a boy around Ryoma's height ran up to him. "Hurry up! You know that if you're late Kaidou-buchou will make you run laps."

"Horio, I…" Ryoma shook his head. "Lets go."

* * *

"Today we'll be practicing our doubles skills," Momoshiro crossed his arms in front of his chest and smiled. "Remember those numbers that I assigned everyone before they left practice yesterday? Use those to find the court you'll be at."

"Numbers?" Ryoma looked around to see everyone was already heading towards their courts.

"Echizen, you'll work with me," Kaidou used his racket to point towards the court that was farthest in the back.

"I'd rather not play doubles; it's not really my thing."

"That's why we're practicing."

"Why do I have to work with you though?"

"Because you need someone who knows what he's doing to play along side you."

"I knew I shouldn't have come back," Ryoma turned away from the taller boy.

"What? Are you going to run away like a child?" Kaidou growled at him. "Are you that scared of losing?"

"I just don't see what the point is in trying. We're not a tennis team…we're just a bunch of kids pretending that we can take the Nationals when we can't!"

"Why do you insist on giving up?" Kaidou grabbed for Ryoma and pushed him against the fence. "You should be encouraging our members, but that attitude of yours isn't going to help anyone."

The emotionless look within Ryoma's honey-brown eyes returned. "Am I just here to support you and Momo-senpai? Will you crumble without your pressure pillar?"

"Tezuka-buchou might have called you our pillar, but I don't think of you as an object. Echizen, you are a valuable member of the team just like everyone else. The three of us…you, Momoshiro, and I…we're the only ones who know how truly hard it is to make it all the way to the top. Without you…I…" Kaidou had lost the words he was going to say. Noticing that he still had the boy pinned against the fence, he let go.

"Convince me to stay."

Without even thinking twice about the action he was going to take, Kaidou quickly leaned in and let his lips meet with Ryoma's. When he had come to realize what he was doing, he pulled away.

"Kaidou…senpai…" Ryoma's words were nothing more than a whisper.

"Do whatever you want," Kaidou rushed off while knowing what he had done was wrong. _What was I thinking? Echizen will probably be scared off. Convince him to stay…I should have said something of importance. Why did I kiss him?_

Ryoma felt his body slipping towards the ground. His face glowed with a light red color, and he couldn't keep his heart from beating rapidly. Placing his slender fingers against his soft lips he let his head rest on his knees. "He stole my first kiss…"

The young boy continued to sit there as the days practice went on. Every once in awhile he would look up to see Momoshiro helping a first year with their form. At the court where he was supposed to play, he watched Kaidou play along side a boy he had never seen before. Ryoma didn't know how he could possibly face the new captain after what had happened. He tried to think of all the possibilities as to why his heart fluttered from Kaidou's touch, but it seemed like there were no answers. Then, he remembered a rather embarrassing conversation he had with his father. There was talk about butterflies in the stomach, hearts beating rapidly for unknown reasons, and blushing. The signs were all there, and Ryoma was certain that he must be right; he must be sick. After coming to this conclusion, he got onto his feet and went to change. Taking a small piece of paper out of his bag, he scribbled a small note and left it by Kaidou's things.

* * *

Once practice had ended, Kaidou made his way into the clubhouse. Noticing the paper on his bag, he picked it up and read it:

_'Come to my house tomorrow around noon. –Echizen Ryoma'_

"A love letter?" Momoshiro peered over Kaidou's shoulder but was pushed away.

"No," Kaidou placed the paper into his bag and began to change. "It's nothing."

"Hey, what happened to Echizen?"

"I don't even know anymore…"

"You seem odd. Are you alright, Kaidou?" Momoshiro was shocked to see that he was already back in his school uniform.

"I'm fine. I'll see you on Monday," he left the room without waiting for a reply.

"Man, between Echizen's and Kaidou's weird attitudes, I feel like I'm left to run this tennis club all by myself…"

**NOTE: Chapter two is finished. Yeah, and if you were shocked with what Kaidou did…so was I. That kiss wasn't in my plans. I had plans for them to start their doubles match, and Ryoma was going to get annoyed and walk off. Kaidou just thought it would be a good idea to kiss him. I'm used to my own characters doing things on their own, but I usually have control over characters in fanfics. Bad Kaidou! You should do as I tell you!**

**Anyways, am I the only one having issues uploading to my Document Manager? I keep getting this stupid processing error. It's annoying, but I've found a way around it by just editing one of my old uploads with the chapter I need to update. It's a pain though because Fanfiction changes the way I have everything formatted (I hate the spaces they put in between each line and such).  
**

**Sorry if Kaidou and/or Ryoma are out of character. Also, the original line was going to be "The signs were all there, and Ryoma was certain that he must be right; he must like Kaidou" but I decided that was lame. Apparently I like to make Ryoma oblivious to what is going on. I do that often to poor Ryoma. I guess it can't be helped. Karupin will be in the next chapter! (That was random…)**

**There is a new poll up in my profile. I would love it if you'd check it out. I'll be changing polls a lot because I need to start figuring out all the fics I'll be writing. So far I have ten planned out fics, but there are many more to come. I'm going to make sure to throw in some KaidouXRyoma fics because I've been told there are barely any and the ones that there are on this site are rather old…so, yes, if there are people who like KaidouXRyoma and would like me to write more for the pairing in the future, I will do so. I want to write a NiouXFuji fic so badly. Would anyone read that? Or is it possible that I'm alone? NiouXKirihara? No? MaruiXJirou? Come on, that one is for sure a total win! It's like foodXsleep…two of my favorite things! I feel so alone all of a sudden…**

**I found a nifty little feature on Microsoft Word. There's this little thing you can pull down and you can see what you're writing on two different sections. I like it because I often have to look back at the things I wrote before. This allows me to do so without losing my spot. Perfect~! Anyways, I'm going to drink my green tea and probably edit my novel. The next update will be no later than Saturday (February 6th). That is of course my time. Thank you for stopping by. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you for the next update. Well, that's saying you liked the fic enough to come back~!**


	3. Chapter 3

With the sun bright up in the sky, Kaidou found himself walking down the path towards Ryoma's house. Looking at his watch, he noticed that it was only eleven. Wondering what Ryoma would think if he knocked on the door and was early made him stand outside on the sidewalk instead.

"What am I doing here?" Kaidou mumbled to himself as he made his way up to the door after standing there for about fifteen minutes. As he reached out his hand to knock, the door swung open.

"You're early," Ryoma stared up at him. "You know, if you were waiting for twelve to come around, you could have knocked early."

"Why did you want me to come over?"

"Come in; would you like something to drink?" he motioned the older boy into the house.

"You're avoiding the question," Kaidou stepped in and Ryoma closed the door. "Is this about what happened yesterday?"

"Can't I just invite my senpai over?"

"Echizen, you've changed since the others left."

Ryoma let out a grunting sound. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're annoying…"

"Why are you so confident when it comes to the new members on the tennis team?"

"I'm the captain; I have to have confidence in all of my members," Kaidou placed his hand on Ryoma's shoulder but quickly pulled away. "Look, about what happened yesterday―"

"I don't want to talk about it," he shook his head. "I think I have a fever."

"A fever?"

"That would explain why you kissed me. You noticed that I was becoming red in the face and you were checking my temperature."

Kaidou scanned the boy. He couldn't believe the conclusion he had come to. "Do you still plan on quitting the team or do I have to convince you to stay some more?"

"You never really tried to convince me in the beginning."

"It's because you're too busy whining to actually listen to me."

"I'm not whining."

"It sure sounds like you are," Kaidou growled. "Convince me to stay. I'm just your pillar, if I leave, you're nothing. Fine! It you want to leave, go! It you want to be a baby, go ahead. I'm done with your complaining."

"If you want complaining, I'll complain. You're unsocial, unfriendly, a jerk," Ryoma began to count on his fingers.

"Well you're just a cocky, little brat!"

"You fail as the tennis captain!"

Kaidou reached out and pushed the younger boy to the ground. "At least I haven't given up."

Anger filled Ryoma's honey-brown eyes. "I haven't given up yet. I just don't want to be seen as the person who's holding our team together."

"How many times do I have to tell you that you're not a pillar supporting the team? What do I have to do to make you understand that?"

"I don't know," Ryoma's face was colored red. "You've already stolen my first kiss…"

"You should forget that ever happened," Kaidou looked away from him. "I didn't mean to do that."

"I can't; for some reason, I keep thinking about it. I think I have a fever."

"You said that already."

"Would you like something to drink?" Ryoma got onto his feet.

"No. Why are you changing subjects?"

He let out a sigh and focused his attention on the floor. "I'm become flustered."

"You really have changed all of a sudden since the others have left."

"I've matured…"

"No you haven't," Kaidou placed his hand under Ryoma's chin to force him to look up. "You've become uncertain."

Ryoma jerked away and turned himself. "I wanted to play a match against you. That's the only reason I asked you to come here today."

"That's a lie, but I'm done questioning what's going on in that head of your."

"Lets go…"

The two of them headed outside where they began their match. The whole time, neither of them said a single word. When Ryoma won, Kaidou shook his hand and congratulated him. Afterwards, he was given a glass of water and left the house with no more than a "goodbye" slipping through his lips. Kaidou didn't know how much longer this would go on. Ryoma was no naïve to the world around him, and it made Kaidou enjoy being around him even more.

**NOTE:**** Yeah, yeah, go ahead and yell at me for being a month and two days late with updating. I'm sorry; I was having one bad writer's block. Now, I'm slowly trying to update all of the fics I'm behind on. The next update for this fic will be March 16****th**** (It would have been the 14****th****, but I'm plan on writing White Day fics all day.). Oh, and yes, I realize this chapter is a major failure. I had to fight myself to not write anything with Kaidou and Ryoma jumping at other and making out. Believe me, this was harder than it might sound. Now I think I know why my friends called me a pervert in high school (Man, if they read the things I write…or this one picture I drew of Fuji and Ryoma…). Another thing I realized was that I was becoming very angry while writing this chapter. It was probably because of Kaidou and Ryoma yelling back and forth. Maybe sometimes I get too into my writing…**

**There is a poll in my profile to help me decide on which fic to write next. There is a total of 19 different fics to choose from (with 11 different pairings). I would love it if you all would go check it out and vote. I will more than likely start this new fic in May (I'm going to be too busy in April with Script Frenzy to start anything new.). I'm sure that there will be at least one fic that will jump out at you (You're allowed to vote for two in total.).**

**My laptop is being a jerk and it's not reading my external harddrive. Well, it's reading it, but it's not noticing the files on it. Not good…not good at all. Want to know what else is not good? The fact that it's almost two in the morning and I'm hungry…and I'm tired (This happens way too often.).**

**Okay, that's all from me. Thank you for reading. I will be back soon with another update. Please be patient with me. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter and read until the very end. Thank you~!**


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning, Ryoma rose from his bed and let his arms stretch up high above him. He looked around and grabbed for his school uniform. Placing his pants on followed by his white button-up shirt, he turned to stare out of his bedroom window.

"Day three," Ryoma mumbled as he finished getting dressed. He placed his bag on his shoulder and headed downstairs where he ate a piece of toast for breakfast. Picking his bag up once again, he headed for the door and left for school.

* * *

At school, Ryoma did his daily routine of avoiding the crowded halls and just placing himself in his classroom. Even there he didn't bother to mingle with the other students. Of course, Horio wouldn't allow him to stay there alone.

"Hey, Echizen, what's going on with you and tennis practice?" Horio questioned the boy.

"I've been there," Ryoma leaned his cheek up against his right hand to hold his head up.

"Yeah, you just haven't been playing much. You do realize what today is, right?"

"Is there something important happening?" Ryoma pretended to be interested in the information Horio had.

"Of course there is! Today we start our matches to see who will make up the Regulars!" he growled. "Aren't you worried?"

"Not really. The only threats have graduated and moved onto high school."

"There are still a lot of strong players. You shouldn't have so much confidence."

Ryoma let out a sigh. "If you don't have confidence in yourself, there's no way you'll win…"

* * *

When classes were finished, students rushed to go to their after school activities. The tennis club met outside on the courts like always. All the members stared up at a large board to see who exactly they would be going up against in the day's matches.

"We're doing things differently," Kaidou pointed to the board. "Each day we will do one round of tennis matches. Everyone will be playing in these matches…this is including the first year students. Instead of having for groups, there are only three. Momoshiro, Echizen, and I will be the leaders of each group."

Ryoma quickly looked up at Kaidou. "What do you mean I'm a leader of a group? I wasn't told this."

"It's because you were a Regular at one point. As the three strongest members, it's only right that each of us are group leaders. If you have something wrong with that, please tell me now so I can change things around."

"It's fine…but don't expect me to go easy on anyone," he crossed his arms.

"Lets start the first round of matches. Find the court you're assigned to. Everyone should know the rules of tennis, so you will keep your own score."

* * *

On the courts, Ryoma was put against a first year student. He watched as the young boy fumbled to hold his racket. The two of them stood there in front of the net.

"If you can't even hold your racket, how do you expect to win?" Ryoma demanded from him.

"Sorry…I just…didn't think I would have to go up against you," the boy swayed slightly back and forth. "I'll try my best to keep up with you, Echizen-senpai."

"Do your best," as Ryoma walked over to the far left corner of the court, he switched his racket into his right hand. Something had caused him to feel as if he didn't need to torture the child by beating him within a minute.

After winning the match, Ryoma told the young boy to go around and watch the other matches and examine how they were being played. He quickly ran off with a carefree smile on his face as if he didn't even mind losing. Ryoma couldn't figure out how someone who just lost a match could be so cheerful. Not overly caring, he went over to where Momoshiro stood watching over a few matches.

"Momo-senpai, can I ask you something?" Ryoma saw that Horio was playing against a first year.

"Go ahead," Momoshiro turned to focus his attention on the boy.

"Have you ever kissed someone before?"

"What kind of question is that?" he scanned the boy and noticed his cheeks turning a light shade of red. "Is this because you like someone? Man, first Kaidou gets a love letter after practice and now this."

"I was the one who gave him that note. I was asking him to come over."

"Wait, so what you're saying is you like Kaidou and you want to kiss him?"

"No, Kaidou-senpai was the one who kissed me!" Ryoma slapped his hands against his mouth and quickly regretted the words he spoke.

Momoshiro took a few steps away and swung around in search for Kaidou. When he spotted the boy, he pointed his finger at him. "Kaidou kissed you?"

"I finished my match. I'll go mark it then I'm heading home," Ryoma spun around on his heels and began to head towards the clubhouse.

"You can't just leave. Echizen, is this why you're acting so strange?"

"I'm staying in the tennis club, isn't that enough for you?" he paused and let out a sigh. "It's not because I overly want to…it's just because Kaidou-senpai has confused me so much that I don't think I'd even be able to leave."

"So you're just sticking around because you like Kaidou?"

"No, I'm still hanging around because I want him to prove that he's telling me the truth when he says I'm not just a pillar holding up this team," before Momoshiro could respond, Ryoma darted off.

"In other words, you just haven't realized how you feel," Momoshiro laughed at himself. "This tennis club sure does have a lot of drama when it comes to those two."

* * *

At the end of practice, Momoshiro didn't mention the conversation he had with Ryoma. When Kaidou asked where he ran off to, he just said that he decided to go home early. Momoshiro held in his laughter when he noticed yet another note left on Kaidou's bag. It was yet another note from Ryoma stating that he would stay in the club…for now.

**NOTE:**** And there was chapter four. Okay, I don't know why I felt like I've written more chapters for this fic than I have. Ah, oh well. Anyways, I changed how they decide on who will be the Regulars…slightly. This is because I wanted to show that Kaidou is different from Tezuka as a captain (You got to love the fact that Kaidou has say in everything and Ryuzaki-sensei doesn't really exist.). Oh, and I'm sorry about the delay for this update. The next update will be March 26****th****. This is possibly the last update I will do until May. Details about that can be found in my profile, but this is basically because I'll be participating in Script Frenzy (as well as hopefully moving) in April. If you actually go check out my profile, I changed it so you can see my schedule as well as special fics I'll be writing.**

**I finally got a boost of energy out of no where, so I'm going to go write the update for "An Unknown Disaster" and possibly work on "No! No! Megane's" as well as "Somewhere Beyond the Musical Notes". Oh, before I forget, I'm thinking one of the graduated characters might make a small appearance in this fic. I want to say Tezuka, Fuji, or Inui. If it's Tezuka, Kaidou will probably get angry at him because of making Ryoma think he's just this object holding the tennis team up. If it's Fuji, I have no clue what will happen. If it's Inui, he'll probably say something about his data. Okay, I'll probably go with Tezuka. What do you all think?**

**Anyways, I'll see you all on the next update. I'm off to do some more writing. As always, thank you very much for reading this chapter. If you like it, don't forget to come back for more~!**


	5. Chapter 5

The week continued to go on until the last day of school for the week came around. Walking out to the courts for tennis practice, Ryoma spotted a familiar tall figure that seemed out of place. Without even thinking, he ran for were the figure stood.

"Tezuka-buchou!"

"Senpai," Tezuka turned to the small boy as he corrected him.

Kaidou, who had been talking to Tezuka before Ryoma ran up to them, let out a sigh. "Echizen, start running your warm up laps."

Ryoma stared up at Tezuka for a moment before turning away. "Right."

"How have things been here?" Tezuka questioned as he watched the small boy begin to jog around the courts.

"Things are fine, but I don't think you really have the time to come around here worrying about us," Kaidou crossed his arms. Even though he began to act disrespectful, he didn't seem to care. "Shouldn't you be more concerned with your own life?"

"Echizen doesn't seem himself."

Kaidou adjusted himself to see Ryoma barely putting any effort into his running. "You realize he's convinced that they only reason he believes he's wanted on this team is to support us, right?"

"Why is that?"

"Because you told him that he needs to become Seigaku's pillar of strength."

"Ah."

"Is that all you can say?" Kaidou's rage slowly began to build up. "Echizen continues to tell me he's going to quit because of such a stupid thing you drilled into his head. I don't know how to make him understand that I don't think of him as just a support holding us up. He doesn't realize that I'm not you, and I don't think he's just this object I can use as I please."

Tezuka shook his head as if disapproving in what was being said. "I just did what I needed to in order for him to realize his true potential."

"Well next time you should try to do it with encouraging words instead of labels!" Kaidou growled as he swung his hand to point at Ryoma. "I'm not here to clean up the messes you've made. He doesn't think we have a chance to win Nationals. You wanted him to see his true potential…well, now he has no confidence."

"I just came to see how practice was going. I have no intentions to help you with anything. You're now the captain, Kaidou, so you have to solve the problems that arise," he began to leave the area.

The younger boy quickly followed after him. "The problem that came up is because of you! Echizen is this way because of you! You called him Seigaku's pillar and now he thinks he's nothing more than an object. If anything, you ruined him. Now I have to convince him to stick around, and the only reason I can think of is because I lack the confidence in myself and need him."

"Did you think about telling him that?"

"No…"

Tezuka looked beyond Kaidou to see the small boy they were talking about standing there. "Maybe you should try doing that." Without saying goodbye or anything, he continued on his way.

"Why were you two talking about me?" Ryoma's cold stare pierced through Kaidou. "What do I have to do with your lack of confidence?"

"Echizen…" Kaidou grabbed for his slender wrist and pulled him towards the clubhouse. "We need to talk."

* * *

Ryoma stumbled over his feet a few times as he was dragged into the clubhouse. He became flustered by Kaidou's random actions. Slipping his wrist from Kaidou's clutch, he took a few steps back.

"Why did you bring me here?" Ryoma mumbled.

"How much of the conversation did you hear?" Kaidou didn't bother to even listen to the question Ryoma had asked. His was more concerned with the way the young boy might have taken what he said to Tezuka.

"Enough of it."

"He…should have never come here," Kaidou crossed his arms and tried his hardest to keep his composure. "You realize that, right? He doesn't need to check up on us as if he's still the captain. He graduated…this tennis team is no longer his."

"Is that all you wanted? I need to get back to practice," Ryoma swung around and stared at the door. "…I really don't understand people like you…"

Kaidou placed his hand on the young boy's shoulder. "Echizen, I don't want you to think you have to continue to stick around against your will. If you really want to quit, just tell me and I'll let you go."

"If I didn't want to stay, I would have never come back after saying I quit the first time. But, if you need me just for a confidence boost, you're no better than Tezuka-senpai."

"It's not like that. When I see you play tennis, it gives me a thrill that forces me to try harder. I never wanted to admit it, but you're the better player, Echizen. I know that I'm not the best captain and that we lack the strength we once had. The first years love watching you…and they're inspired by you because of how far you went when you were in their position. If you don't want to stay because I asked you, stay because you're giving those younger ones the confidence boost," Kaidou let out a 'fshuuu' sound.

"We should get back to practice," Ryoma looked back at Kaidou with a cocky smirk on his face. "Right, Kaidou-buchou?"

An unusual shade of red formed along Kaidou's cheekbones as he followed Ryoma out of the room. "Right."

**NOTE:**** I am very sorry about the delay. I am beyond late with this update, and I can't help but apologize. This was chapter…chapter 5? That's it? Wow, I thought this was going to be chapter 6. Anyways, Tezuka made a short visit to cause trouble. Of course, this isn't the end of the conflict. I have an idea in my head that includes Kaidou saying something to really make Ryoma mad. I don't know when I will update next. I will try to do an update sometime in April when I get the time.**

**It is almost midnight, so I need to prepare myself for Script Frenzy (I'm going to be busy tomorrow, so I'm going to do a little work before I go to bed.). As I said, I'll try to get at least two updates done within April. Forgive me if they're at random times.**

**Thank you all for reading this chapter. I hope you enjoyed it. I will have another chapter up as soon as I can. Thank you for being patient~!**


	6. Chapter 6

Out on the tennis court behind the Echizen residence, Ryoma swung his red racket to make contact with the small ball he threw up in the air. The ball flew across the court and over the net as he once again served to no one.

"I don't even know why I bother," he mumbled as he continued his serving. "Why do I continue to stick around? I'm just being used." An image of Kaidou kissing him flashed through his mind causing him to drop his tennis racket and fall onto his back. "Ow." Ryoma let out a sigh and shook his head. "Why do I keep remember that?"

"Oh, Ryoma!" Ryoma's father, Nanjiro, slowly walked up to the boy. "I thought you'd be out here. Lets have a match."

"I don't want to," getting onto his feet, Ryoma grabbed his racket and turned to look at the older man. "There's no reason for me to even play anymore."

"Hmmm…you're quitting?"

"I've been trying to," he shook his head and walked away. "He's pulling me in…causing me to stay."

"…Ryoma…playing by myself isn't fun!" Nanjiro pouted.

* * *

In his bedroom, Ryoma sat on his bed; softly stroking Karupin with his right hand. He stared down at the phone he held in his free hand trying to figure out what he really wanted to do.

"Just call him and demand an answer. Then, tell him that you're no longer coming back to the tennis team. That's all you have to do," Ryoma looked down at his cat. "Right?"

"Nya~" Karupin purred and jumped off the bed; leaving the room.

Ryoma let out a frustrated yell and pounded out a number on the touch pad phone. As the person on the other end picked up, Ryoma froze. He had lost all his words.

"Echizen, I know that it's you. What do you want?" Kaidou's voice showed that he was annoyed.

"I…" Ryoma paused and bit his lower lip. "I need to talk to you."

"Okay. What about?"

"I'd rather not talk about it over the phone. Lets meet at the school…the clubhouse."

"When?"

"I'm leaving after I hang up the phone."

"Fine. I'll see you there," there was a click as Kaidou hung up his phone.

"Wait…that wasn't how that was supposed to go," Ryoma clenched the phone as he lifted his body off of the bed. Going down the stairs, he made his way to the entrance of the house and placed on his shoes. Without bothering to say he was going out, he left the house and headed for towards the school.

* * *

When Kaidou arrived outside of the clubhouse, he looked around. Letting out a sigh, he noticed that Ryoma hadn't made it there yet. Digging in his pocket, he pulled out a key and opened the door into the room where the tennis team would change. As he entered, he dragged his hand against the wall until he reached one of the benches. He turned when he heard footsteps coming up behind him.

"I just wanted you to know "

"That you've decided to quit?" Kaidou stared straight into Ryoma's golden eyes. "Is it going to continue like this? We have an argument, you don't like something…you threaten to quit."

"It's different this time."

"How?"

Ryoma looked at his feet. "I can't stop thinking about it. It's causing me to lose focus. I don't like it."

"What are you talking about?" Kaidou stepped forward; making Ryoma move back.

"That stupid kiss!" the younger boy slapped his hands against his mouth.

"Oh…" he shook his head. "That was a mistake."

"No…that was your way of keeping me around. I tell you to convince me to stay, you kiss me to confuse me. Now, I'm stuck trying to come to a conclusion for why you did that."

"Didn't you already say that it was because you were feverish?"

"That wasn't the reason and you know it!" he growled.

Kaidou quickly moved forward and grabbed Ryoma by the shoulders. He pushed him up against the wall; scanning his quivering body. Leaning in, he let their lips meet. This time, Ryoma fell victim to the sweet touch and allowed himself to kiss him back. Placing his mouth by Ryoma's ear, Kaidou softly whispered, "I need you…"

"When you say things like that, it just causes me to become more confused," Ryoma mumbled as his body slid down to the floor. "I can't continue…to support everyone…"

Kaidou punched his fist against the wall and hung his head low. "I don't want that type of support. Quit, leave…it won't change anything."

"What do you want from me?"

"I want you."

Ryoma closed his eyes and hugged his legs close to his body. "You're just saying that to get me to stay. This is just a setup."

"It's nothing like that!" he growled and backed himself away. His eyes sternly looked at Ryoma causing him to shiver. "Nevermind. I don't want to get involved in this anymore. Just…do whatever you want!"

Silently, Ryoma picked himself off of the grounded and stumbled to the door. He didn't bother looking back before mumbling a soft goodbye and leaving the small room.

"…Echizen…" sighing, Kaidou adjusted the bandana that rested on his head and allowed for Ryoma to be completely out of sight before heading back to his house. He was done with trying to get Ryoma to stay when it was obvious that he wanted nothing to do with the tennis team or the older boy.

**NOTE:**** It has been way too long since I've updated this fic, and I apologize for it. I have no excuse for taking this long to put up a new chapter, and I feel bad for making everyone wait this long. I will do my best to get this fic back on its normal updating schedule. I will try my best to have a new chapter up for September 14****th****. I cannot promise you I will though. I will update my profile with details if I need to.**

**Thank you for reading this chapter. I hope it was at least slightly worth the wait. It was difficult coming back to a fic I had placed on hold for so long. I look forward to writing more with this fic. More will come with this fic in due time. Please wait for it~!**


	7. Chapter 7

Day after day continued to slip right on by, and as time faded from morning to night, Ryoma never returned to Seigaku's tennis courts. Though Kaidou pretended as if he didn't care about the boy's absence, he couldn't help but turn and look away from the courts; hoping that Ryoma would be trotting his way towards them. Nothing. Not a single passing person; just the wind sadly blowing around.

"We should work on doubles again today. That's always been something we fell behind in," Momoshiro stared at Kaidou and waved his hand in front of his face. "You listening?"

"Yeah, that's fine," Kaidou turned and searched the crowd of tennis players for a specific one. "Take care of the team for a little bit. I need to talk with someone. Horio! Lets talk!"

"Coming!" the younger boy rushed up to Kaidou and followed as he wandered out from the fenced area.

"That Kaidou really needs to start focusing. What is he doing?" Momoshiro mumbled as returned to the rest of the members. Shouting orders, they all began to work in pairs to improve their skills when it came to doubles.

* * *

Down towards the clubhouse, Kaidou and Horio walked in silence. Only once they stepped into the room was the silence broken by a soft 'fshuu' sound that slipped from Kaidou's lips.

"What was it that you needed to talk about, Kaidou-buchou?" Horio's voice slightly cracked.

"Was Echizen in class today?"

"Uh… well, yeah."

"I see."

"He told me not to talk about him if asked though," Horio quickly slapped his hands against his mouth.

Kaidou stared down at the floor and let uncertainty fill his mind. "What did he tell you?"

"He said," the young boy paused and quickly shook his head. "I can't tell you. He said not to."

"Then I guess you can go run 200 laps."

"Echizen said that he refuses to come back to the tennis club and that you can take your pride in the team and shove it up your―"

"That's enough," Kaidou carefully moved towards his bag and pulled out a notepad. He quickly scribbled on it, ripped the page out, and folded it into a crisp square. Returning to Horio, he handed the paper to him. "Give that to Echizen when you see him next. Don't read it and hurry back to practice after you put it somewhere safe."

Once Horio noticed that Kaidou was out of the room, he pulled the note open and read the words out loud. "Come back to practice for just one day. We need to talk about these things; especially those kisses." Gasping at the words, he hurried to fold the paper up once again and shoved it in his bag. Trying to forget what he had read, he ran back to the courts.

* * *

The following day, Ryoma took the noted and scoffed as he read it. Crumpling it up, he tossed it into the trash can and returned to his seat. He listened to Horio continue to pester him to return to which he didn't bother to reply to. As class began, Ryoma's mind began making decisions, and once the school day was to end, he would find himself changing into his tennis outfit and walking towards the courts like normal.

Making his way with racket in hand, Ryoma heard mumbles coming from the other students. Rumors had already begun to go around the team about him and Kaidou. Before Ryoma was able to say anything in his defense, a hand touched his shoulder causing him to lose all trains of thoughts.

"We'll start with a quick five laps around the courts," Kaidou growled. "And there will be no more talk about these stupid rumors." When Ryoma attempted to slip away, Kaidou pulled him back. "I don't expect you to do anything."

"If you wanted to talk, lets just get it over with already," Ryoma brushed the older boy's hand away.

"I know that you don't want to be here, and I know that things have been placed in your mind that are causing you to fall apart. It doesn't matter if you stay and play anymore. The choice is completely yours. I can't force you to do anything you don't want to, but just remember that there's always a place here on the team for you. Not as a pillar to support us, but as a valued member just like everyone else," his breathing staggered as he looked over his shoulder; everyone was staring from beyond the fence. "There's just one thing I ask of you…"

Ryoma rose his left arm up and shoved his racket in Kaidou's face. "Buchou, how about one round?" A smirk formed on his face as he cocked his head to one side. "Afraid you're going to lose?"

"Everyone gather around here!" Kaidou placed his hands in his pockets and waited for all the boys to group together. "I want you to watch this match carefully. Analyze every movement we make and learn from it. Momoshiro—"

"Here," Momoshiro tapped the blue racket against the boy's head. "So, what is this going to solve?"

"I'll stay only if you can prove to me, with this match, that you have the strength to do this on your own. One point is all it takes," Ryoma moved to his end of the court and tossed the small tennis ball into the air. "I refuse to lose to you!" His racket made contact with the as it flew through the air.

Back and forth, the ball continued to be hit from one end to the other. Neither of the two boys were willing to give up. It wasn't only a match of skill, but a match between their stamina levels as well. Rushing towards the net, Ryoma had misread Kaidou's next move as the tennis ball swooped around the net and into Ryoma's side of the court. It hit the ground and bounced back up, but by the time Ryoma had reached it, it was already too late. The point had gone to Kaidou.

Beads of sweat dripped down Ryoma's cheeks as he wobbled towards the net to meet with Kaidou. Raising his hand up to shake Kaidou's, he pulled up more and slapped it against the older boy's cheek.

"I'll stay, but don't think you can just kiss me whenever you want to!" Ryoma adjusted his cap to cover the rosy color on his face and ran towards the clubhouse.

"Huh? So the rumors and everything that been said is true. Kaidou has a crush on our little Echizen!" Momoshiro let out a howling laugh and hit Kaidou's back. "You really are terrible when it comes to other people's feelings!"

"Shut up! You don't even know what's going on," an attitude all too normal for Kaidou started to show its face.

"Hey, hey, no need to get angry about it. I'll give you some pointers. After all, I'm great with the ladies and I know Echizen pretty well. I'll help you out."

"How can you help me out when you have no clue what's been happening," he clenched his teeth and hissed. "You would have just let Echizen walk away and quit when you never even knew what was going on in his mind. Maybe you're no better than Tezuka."

"What are you talking about? I would have fought to keep Echizen around," Momoshiro could feel his own rage building up.

"For what reason? To have him continue to support us as the strongest team member? It's not because he's a strong player that I want him to stay. It's because he's a member of this team, and every person he is equally as important as the next no matter how weak or strong of a tennis player they are!"

Momoshiro took his middle finger and lightly dinged Kaidou's nose. "Then maybe you should get rid of that cranky attitude and let him know that." Smiling, he swung his arm around towards the boys watching their spat. "It's encouraging words like what you just said that keep the smiles on all of these boys faces. Give Echizen his spark back by telling him what you just said to me. Oh… and you might want to resist kissing him. Apparently he doesn't like that."

"You can go do a few laps while I start the rest of today's practice," Kaidou didn't bother to listen to anything else that Momoshiro had to grumbles as he walked off. In the back of his mind, he knew he just didn't want to admit to him being right. "All first years need to be grouped with a second or third year for practice matches. The older members with more experience will be able to show you what you're doing wrong and help you with your weaknesses. We'll be working like this for the rest of the week, so hurry up and get a partner!"

* * *

In the clubhouse, Ryoma sat down on the floor with his back up against the wall. With his knees tight to his chest, he rested his head as his breathing became heavy. His body shivered and a faint gasping like sob could be heard.

"If I'm not broken…" Ryoma mumbled through his salty tears. "Then… why do I feel… like I'm falling apart? What… what's happening to me…? Kaidou… buchou…"

**NOTE:**** I'd like to just start with an awkward hello and a very sincere apology. Forgive me for taking way too long to get to chapter 7. I hope this was worth the wait. I can't help but question myself as to why this fic has taken over a year to get to chapter 7. I feel like an awful fic writer at the moment. Please, my readers, if you ever notice that I haven't updated a chapter fic in over four months, spam me with messages until I promise to update. To me, this is unacceptable.**

**Anyways, thank you for reading this chapter. I'm going to put in my calendar to have the next update on the 8****th**** of February. Hopefully this date will work out in the end.**

**"A faint gasping like sob could be heard." What was I thinking when I was writing that?  
**

**Crazy things are happening in this fic… so crazy that I don't even know what's going on anymore. I hope you'll come back for the next chapter!**

**(I'd also like to apologize if my writing style changed even in the slightest bit and threw you all off. I'm just trying to become a better writer, and that comes with the risk of changing how I write part way through a fic.).**


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